State sets up terrorism database for police

Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau

Published
4:00 am PDT, Wednesday, September 26, 2001

2001-09-26 04:00:00 PDT Sacramento -- Gov. Gray Davis announced yesterday a counterterrorism initiative designed to allow local agencies to share information learned about potential threats in the state.

"Now, the highest responsibility California officials have is to protect Californians from further acts of terrorism," Davis said.

Davis said the state had received between 30 and 40 bomb threats a day since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11.

"We've been advised many, many times that this is not over, that California is a target and that we should be prepared for some terrorist response -- particularly after America retaliates for the events of Sept. 11," Davis said. "We are on a very heightened state of alert."

The center is designed to offer a way for police to quickly and effectively compare notes throughout the state, stop false rumors and break up violent conspiracies.

For example, a San Diego peace officer may notice something or someone suspicious and report it to the Terrorism Center. The center would then assess the credibility of the information and track the individual. If the person moved to another part of the state, the center would notify local law enforcement.

However, Davis said the state would be careful to strike a balance between civil liberties and security. He emphasized that no state laws were being changed to create the task force.

Davis said the move was in direct response to a request from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft for states to establish counter-terrorism task forces.

The Democratic governor cited a recent incident in which the sheriff in San Jose had information about people with maps and possible terrorist targets in California. While the information was shared with the FBI, it was never distributed to law enforcement throughout the state.

The state wants to make sure there are no gaps in its security operation, Lockyer said.

The center will cost $1.2 million to set up and run for the next six months,

and between $3 million and $3.5 million annually, Davis said.

Davis appointed a 14-member task force to oversee the center, which will include state officials, county sheriffs and police chiefs from around California.

Davis appointed Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca to head up the task force, and San Francisco Police Chief Fred Lau will also serve on the panel.

Davis also signed into law yesterday a measure to assist families of victims of the East Coast attacks. All four of the hijacked airplanes involved were bound for California.

The law expands the state's victim compensation program to make the grandparents, grandchildren and parents-in-law of those who died in the attacks eligible. Its provisions apply to relatives who are California residents, even if the victims lived in another state.